Probably a dumb question, but all this is not in my skill set. With Android stuff already being able to work with so many different devices, what's the problem?
With Android being open source it allows the carriers such as Vodaphone, AT&T, T-Moble etc to create their own protocols for third party device communications. Since each can have their own it creates a bit of havoc in the marketplace for a third party developer that wants to connect an Android device to another third party product. In effect BMW as an app developer would need a version of the app for each different carriers specific connectivity methodology.
Think beyond the US here. While we have Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile as the major carriers there are much bigger ones on the worldwide market. In fact, Verizon, the largest US carrier is the 18th largest in the world.
I think it was the release of Android 4.0, named Ice Cream Sandwich, that there is now one unifying communication protocol.
The difference with Apple's iOS is that Apple has said "This is how you shall connect." Making it easier for a third party developer to include the connectivity functions into an app.
I may be wrong here as this not my area of expertise at all, if someone has better grasp of this please post.
